İpek BEREKET, 2011 – 2012 Academic Year Jean Monnet Scholar

İpek Bereket is the owner of an educational technology company. She uses the education she has received in Europe as a guide as she brings to our country the educational technologies that are already mandatory in the EU but haven’t been adapted to Turkey. After graduating from the Middle East Technical University, she went to England via the Jean Monnet Scholarship Program. She completed the Masters in Management program in London Business School in England, worked on Enterprise and Industrial Policy and built the foundation of the work she does now. She is now a successful business woman with the knowledge she acquired thanks to the Jean Monnet Scholarship Program.

Could you tell us about yourself? How has your career taken shape so far?
After graduating from the Middle East Technical University with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Industrial Engineering, I did my Master’s in London Business School via the Jean Monnet program. I did my internship focusing in Turkey in an investment fund working on asset management in London. After completing the program, I worked in state and EU projects in a management consulting company focusing on the public and education projects in the USA. Now I own a company in Turkey, named SPEDU implementing systems of educational technology that are present or mandatory in the EU but haven’t been adapted to Turkey.

Where were you working or studying when you got the Jean Monnet scholarship? Which year?
I did my Master’s with the Jean Monnet program in 2011-2012 academic year after getting my Bachelor’s degree from the Middle East Technical University.

Which university did you attend via Jean Monnet scholarship program? What did you work on as a Jean Monnet scholar?
I completed the Masters in Management program in London Business School in England. I worked on Enterprise and Industrial Policy.
How has Jean Monnet scholarship program affected your career after you returned to Turkey?
I got the chance to take classes from professors who are prominent in their fields. Working abroad and seeing the implementations in place also helped me build the foundation of the work I do now.
How has Jean Monnet scholarship program changed your view on the European Union?
İpek Bereket: Doing academic studies with students from various EU countries, especially in a cosmopolitan city like London, not only helped me see my field of work up close but also  made me understand  the people and their culture.
What would you like to advise to Jean Monnet scholarship applicants?
First of all, I would suggest doing a good research on the schools they are going. They can follow the practices in their field of work in the country they’re going as well as the related academic studies. Getting to know new cultures during their program would also help them understand the EU culture better.